If you want to start your own book blog and need help, look no further than book blogger Rachel Carney. Her How to Start a Book Blog is an invaluable step-by-step blueprint for developing your own book blog and was the guide I used when setting up simplygoodbooks.
Rachel begins by describing different types of book blogs and suggests you decide what book blog you are interested in. She also recommends undertaking some early research and offers links to useful sites.
She describes some of the slightly more technical aspects of beginning a blog, for instance, hosting and creating your site, then provides help on planning your blog. This is described in refreshingly straightforward language and is easy to follow. It helped me to simplify my website layout and in particular, change my white text on a coloured background (an item on her list of ‘Things I don’t like’) to text on a white background which is easier to read.
Her section on setting up your social media accounts is most valuable, and as I’m writing this book recommendation, I realise I may not have included a direct link to my site in my Twitter profile! It’s easy to overlook the obvious. I’m also a fan of Hootsuite and was encouraged by Rachel’s advice on how best to use it for book blog posts. (I, too, have fallen foul of the effects of scheduling a blog post on Hootsuite, which is scheduled but not published.) I’ll follow Rachel's advice on how best to utilise Amazon, and Goodreads is also handy.
Once you’ve worked out how to create your book blog, Rachel offers some good advice on launching and promoting it. (An essential aspect I am eternally grateful for is a suggestion to create a policy page I’ve implemented on this site.)
One part of the guide which has really helped me is Rachel’s recommendations on writing the posts. It’s easy to agonise for ages over the right word and tone and end up with little content. (This applies to video presentations as well). I’ve followed her guidance and just taken the pressure off myself.
Rachel concludes with further practical book blog tips which I’m storing up for the future as I develop this site further. How to Start a Book Blog is an excellent guide to starting your book blog from scratch.
Read Rachel Carney’s book blog, which I’d highly recommend, at Created to Read.
Happy Reading!
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